Went fishing for a little while on Sunday. The wife wanted to go to Gatlinburg to shop at the Spinnery and buy some knitting stuff, so I suggested we take the fly rods and get in some fishing while we are there. I typically avoid Gatlinburg if at all possible and donít ever go there to fish, but since we were going to be there anyways, why not make the most of it.

On the way to Gatlinburg we stopped by LRO to pick-up a few flies and to get my wife a fishing license. Every time Iím in there, Paula looks at me like she knows me, but canít quite place a name with the face. One of these days, Iíll introduce myself again. Iím just always in a hurry to get to the river when Iím there.

The Spinnery is located in a craft center in Gatlinburg. We pull into the parking lot and I couldnít believe it. You have to walk through (another fly shop) to get to the Spinnery. Gatlinburg ainít so bad after all. After she shopped for her stuff and I rummaged around the flies for an hour, we were off to do some fishing.

I thought about fishing Greenbrier, but settled on going to Roaring Fork. To get to Roaring Fork, you have to drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. This alone is worth the trip. Itís a one way loop through the mountains, 10 MPH the whole way. We enjoyed the sights and especially the wildflowers in bloom. Eventually I found a good place to pull over and we started fishing. Right away, I knew I was going to like this place. One plunge pool after another. Each pool was about eye level from the one before it, so you would fish a pool, climb a boulder then fish the next.

My wife doesnít exactly enjoy this kind of fishing. She was also having problems getting her fly to float, because every time I looked back at her, she was letting it dry by hanging it from a rhododendron tree. At least she was smart enough to cast it high enough into the tree that it would take a while to retrieve and it would be plenty dry by the time we would get it down.

We ended up only fishing for about 30 minutes. I know when to call it a day when the wife is along. However in that 30 minutes I managed to catch 6 like the one in the picture. They were all extremely fat, probably from all the mayflies coming off the water.

On the way out, we stopped at the Sugarland Visitor Center. Iíve driven by the place a hundred times and never thought to stop. It was pretty cool. They had all the typical tourist stuff in it; however they also had a Smoky Mountain Museum. In it were all the things you might find in the smoky mountains. Iíd also recommend stopping there anytime youíre in the area.

Next weekendís report will be better. I plan on fishing solo Saturday and Iíll be sure to take a few more pictures. Now I just need to figure out where to go. Iím thinking ďbrook troutĒ, maybe a long hike up Lynn Camp Prong, or possibly head south into Cherokee.

If your looking for brookies, I would consider Greenbriar (MPLPR), especially if your willing to hike a few miles above the Ramsey Cascades trailhead. Lynn Camp is one of my favorite streams, but brookies are hard to find on that stream. I have caught and missed a few upstream of the intersection of Panther Creek.

If you ever find yourself at the last pull off...the one with a couple of trees in the middle of the pull off....and nobody is there....climb down and fish back up to the last bridge that crosses the stream ..... one great pool after another....this is a deep gorge and once you get in there you cannot climb out without difficulty...there are two places where you actually have to bushwack around and up the side of the mountain....once you get in there it is hard to believe that Gatlinburg is just over the next hill....

One of my favorite areas to fish. One other good way to do it is to park at the "end" of the motor trail (ie don't go all the way around) and fish your way up. The motor trail is great, but if you are really itching to fish it can be a frustratingly long drive to get to good water. Driving up the "back way" and parking at the bottom can get you on fish quick if need be.

One of my favorite areas to fish. One other good way to do it is to park at the "end" of the motor trail (ie don't go all the way around) and fish your way up. The motor trail is great, but if you are really itching to fish it can be a frustratingly long drive to get to good water. Driving up the "back way" and parking at the bottom can get you on fish quick if need be.

Is there a place to park at "the end"? It looked like as soon as you were on the two way road, you would be on private property. There did look to be a parking place a couple hundred yards inside the one way road. Do you just "shoot" up to it when no one is coming? (I've done lots worse than that in my life). I didn't pay much attention when coming out, I just sort of ended up in Gatlinburg.

There is a business at the end of the motor loop and I guess you could ask for permission to park there....but a proviso....if you start fishing below the park boundary technically you will need a Tn. trout stamp in addition to your license....there are some pretty pools in that lower section just above the park boundary.

There's a little pull off just as the loop motor trail ends where I park. Not part of the business's property and I have never had any problems parking there (and believe me, I've parked there a lot; this is one of my main fishing spots).